Parent at the Helm’s

APRIL BOOK GIVEAWAY

I was grateful and thrilled that our book reviewer, Beth Balmanno, wanted to review The Ultimate Book of Homeschooling Ideas for her column this month which is why we’re making it this month’s book giveaway at Parent at the Helm!

I can’t write how wonderful it is here (since I wrote it), so instead I’ll share with you the review provided by Midwest Book Review. As the review notes, if you already own this book or have older children, remember that the learning activities can be fun for non-homeschooling families, too, so perhaps you might want to win one for a gift for someone.

Written with kids age 3-12 in mind, The Ultimate Book Of Homeschooling Ideas presents over 500 creative and enjoyable learning activities specifically designed for use by homeschooling parents. The learning activities range from flash card games, to a pocket alphabet banner for pre-readers, to learning the basics about DNA, to a math game using Legos. Each of these original, innovative, and practical ideas consists of a brief overview and general suggestions; with the specifics of application being implied or left up to the home-based parental educator. The Ultimate Book Of Homeschooling Ideas is warmly commended as being an excellent resource for enriching young minds by homeschoolers (and equally recommended for those parents whose youngsters attend public or private schools), as well as a wonderful source for educational family activities during school holidays and summer vacations.

By Linda Dobson

Fun and Effective Home Learning Activities for Every Subject
As a homeschooling parent, you’re always looking for new and creative ways to teach your child the basics. Look no longer! Inside this innovative helper, you’ll find kid-tested and parent-approved techniques for learning math, science, writing, history, manners, and more that you can easily adapt to your family’s homeschooling needs. And even if you don’t homeschool, you’ll find this book a great teaching tool outside the classroom. You’ll discover fun and educational activities for kids ages 3 to 12, including how to:
·Create maps based on favorite stories, such as Treasure Island or The Wizard of Oz
·Make letters out of French fries as an alphabet learning aid
·Explore architecture by building igloos, castles, and bridges with sugar cubes and icing
·Review spelling words by writing them on the sidewalk with chalk
·And many more!
This comprehensive collection of tried-and-true—and generally inexpensive—ideas provides the best-of-the-best homeschooling activities that can be done anywhere, anytime, and by anyone.

360 pages of fun for your whole family!

Praise for The Ultimate Book of Homeschooling Ideas:
“This book is much more than a well-organized list of creative things to do on a rainy day! It’s a complete resource—the kind of information you’d find in the best ‘how-to’ homeschool manual.” — Jane Boswell,Home Educator’s Family Times

“This book is truly a mother lode of ideas for learning! Whether you’re struggling with teaching a particular subject or just looking for something new and different to spice up your experience, you’ll find enough family-tested ideas here to keep you busy for years.” — Laura Derrick, president, National Home Education Network

“Each idea reaffirms the joy of learning as a family and reinforces the fact that homeschooling parents are creative, confident, and competent educators for their children.” — Tammy Rosenblatt, founder and director, The Family Resource Center

Don’t wait! Register to win today!

Contest Details

CONTEST DEADLINE: April 30, 2011; 11:59PM (EDT)

NO PURCHASE IS NECESSARY TO ENTER THE PARENT AT THE HELM BOOK GIVEAWAY! (New Rules; please read!)

HOW TO PARTICIPATE IN THIS CONTEST: To enter, please “like” Parent at the Helm on Facebook, follow parentatthehelm on Twitter, subscribe to our irregular newsletter with the link near the top of the page (this gets you a little something extra each month!), or sign up for e-mail or RSS feeds (on the left side of the homepage). Then, submit a comment on the PARENT AT THE HELM April Book Giveaway blog article which you can always reach by clicking on the book title at the top of the page. In your comment, please let us know which of the above steps you took, and anything else you’d like to tell us! If by some chance you had already previously covered all of the above steps, please let us know that in your comment (and accept our deepest thanks! [g])

You are allowed one entry per book, with the exception of BLOGGERS: I know your pain! [g]! Blog about this giveaway, include the link to your post in your comment, and you will receive an extra entry in the contest as a thank you for all of your hard work!

PARENT AT THE HELM is not responsible for errors, omissions, interruptions, deletions, defects in part or whole, delays in operations or transmission, theft or destruction or unauthorized access to or alterations of entry materials, or for any technical or non-technical network, telephonic, electronic, computer, hardware or software malfunctions of any kind, or inaccurate or partial transmission of or failure to receive entry information by PARENT AT THE HELM on account of technical problems or traffic congestion on the Internet, at any Web site or at any combination of these.

WINNER SELECTION: The winner shall be selected using Random.org’s “Randomizer” on the morning of May 1, 2011.

ODDS OF WINNING: You’ve got great odds! Odds are determined by the number of entries received.

OBTAINING YOUR PRIZE: We will contact winner by email only. PARENT AT THE HELM will make a reasonable effort to contact you on the day you are determined as winner, but we are not responsible for misdirected notification because of problems with the e-mail address you provide to us. If we cannot reach you, you may be disqualified, with an alternate winner selected. In addition, a winner who does not comply with the Official Rules will be disqualified and an alternate winner will be selected. Return of any prize or prize notification as “undeliverable” will result in disqualification and an alternate winner will be selected.

CONDITIONS: Your participation binds you to these official rules. By participating, you waive any right to claim ambiguity of said rules. All decisions regarding this contest, including, but not limited to, selecting winners, will be made by PARENT AT THE HELM. That decision is final. As winner you are solely responsible for any applicable federal, state and local taxes.

ANNOUNCING THE PRIZE WINNER: We’ll let you know in a blog post who was the lucky winner after the May 1, 2011, drawing.

I already follow you on Twitter, like you on Facebook, get your newsletter, and subscribe to all feeds {great big grin}. Now, I will comment for you to enter me into this drawing and I will hop over to my site and blog about it for an extra entry.

I liked your facebook page and signed up for your newsletter and am excited to start getting it!! I also blogged about your giveaway on my blog.. here is the link: http://ourcrazyhomeschoollife.blogspot.com/2011/0…
I hope i win, that book seems so so interesting and with lots of information in it.. just what i need :o)